MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

National Geographic apologizes for publishing Malvinas pictures as from the Falklands

Last January it was announced that National Geographic February 2018 would document the Falkland Islands' diverse ecosystem by wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen.

National Geographic has apologized to Tierra del Fuego governor Rosana Bertone for publishing in Instagram pictures identified as taken in the Falklands, instead of the Malvinas Islands. According to Ushuaia reports, aware of this situation, the Environment Secretary of Tierra del Fuego Mauro Pérez Toscani, on instructions from Ms Bertone addressed the National Geographic Foundation to express disappointment and demaning rectification of the Malvinas controversy.

And in effect, this week National Geographic Foundation, Pristine Seas, and signed by Enric Sala, addressed a letter to Ms Rosana Bertone, Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands in which it states that they want to clarify a situation relative to a Nat Geo publication, managed from the US, in which a photographer refers to the Malvinas Islands as Falklands.

Further on “National Geographic Society at no moment has wanted to disavow the Argentine claim over the South Atlantic islands territory, including the Malvinas Islands. For that reason we have requested those people who manage that social network to remove such publication and rectify the way in which they refer to those islands in the future, so it is respectful of the clearly defined position of the Argentine government”.

“We are satisfied with the speed in which the rectification was done by National Geographic. Argentina and Tierra del Fuego have the obligation of claiming in every instance our sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, both in diplomatic forae and in the different culture fields”, said Jorge Lopez, Secretary of affairs relative to Antarctica, Malvinas Islands, the South Atlantic and adjoining maritime spaces.

The letter is signed by Enric Sala, Director of Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society.

Last January it was announced that National Geographic February 2018 would document the Falkland Islands' diverse ecosystem by wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen. Canadian born Nicklen has an international reputation as a leading wildlife photographer, and usually travels to Antarctica but on this occasion documented the time he spent in the Falklands.